Pakistan To Host Next SAARC Meeting: Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the upcoming SAARC meeting will be held in Islamabad, invitations to all its members will be sent.

Addressing a presser in New York, he said, India itself highlighted the Kashmir issue in the United Nations as Nehru accepted it as a conflict. India has forcibly slapped curfew in the held valley, which is unacceptable for Pakistan.

He said even voices from India are being raised over the issue and as many as 14 petitions have been filed in the Indian apex court. Qureshi said SAARC is a forum, which is pure from mutual conflicts, Pakistan will send invitations to all its member countries.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi boycotted Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s opening statement at the meeting of the SAARC Council of Foreign Ministers held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York on Thursday (Sep 26).

Shah Mehmood Qureshi in a statement said Pakistan will not engage with India “until and unless” it lifts the “siege” in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K)

“Pakistan will not engage with the Butcher of Kashmir until and unless they lift the siege and put an end to atrocities in Occupied Kashmir. They must safeguard human rights of Kashmiris, ensure they are protected and not violated or trampled upon,” Qureshi said.